Watch Hegseth rail against military leaders as ‘fat general’
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth criticized “fat generals” during a meeting with military commanders at Quantico.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has largely barred military officials, including the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, from speaking to Congress unless they coordinate with the central government offices that report to him.
Hegseth and his attorney, Steve Feinberg, announced the move in an Oct. 15 internal memo obtained by USA TODAY. (Breaking Defense first reported this memo.)
“Unauthorized engagement with Congress…could undermine department-wide priorities,” they said in the memo. Their goal is to control the Pentagon’s messaging to Congress to “ensure consistency and support for the Department’s priorities.”
The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs oversees communications with Congress. The memorandum referred to this office using Hegseth’s preferred title of War Department. This Senate-confirmed position is currently being filled on an interim basis.
This crackdown could affect the military’s transparency with the legislature.
According to the memo, “all interactions with Congress and state elected officials” require approval from the national government. This includes visits by members of Congress to U.S. military bases around the world.
The office will also manage the Department’s response to mandatory reports and letters sent regularly by members of Congress asking questions about investigations, policy issues, and constituent case activity.
Some Pentagon employees with legally mandated relationships with Congress are exempt from the ban, including the department’s inspector general, general counsel, and comptroller. The military can still request assistance from lawmakers and enjoy whistleblower protection.
The move is likely aimed at curbing the parochial infighting between the military branches, which fight over congressional funding every year, even though Mr. Hegseth and the White House have formal control over the process.
This spring, Hegseth’s Pentagon moved to end funding for the Navy’s future stealth fighter jets over concerns that the nation’s defense industry lacked the capacity to build the planes alongside higher-priority projects.
But Reuters reports that the Navy successfully lobbied Congress to save the plan, forcing Hegseth to approve the Navy’s new aircraft this month.
